The United Nations Regional Humanitarian Coordinator
for the Great Lakes Region today renewed a call on
behalf of aid agencies to exempt humanitarian assistance
from sanctions imposed on Burundi by its neighboring
states.

Mr. Martin Griffiths appealed to regional and local
sanctions committees to act expediently on requests
made by UN organisations for fuel and assistance after
the economic measures were announced in response to
the July 1996 coup.

"We are asking that the committees respect our
petition and the very difficult nature of our work
in Burundi," Griffiths said. "These supplies
are indispensable simply to continue delivering aid".

Mr. Griffiths made the statement after consultations
with the joint UN-OAU Special Representative to the
Great Lakes Region, Ambassador Mohamed Sahnoun, in
New York.

Despite an initial request made to the Regional Sanctions
Coordinating Committee on 18 November for a monthly
quota of 445,000 litres, no fuel has yet reached agencies
in Burundi. An emergency shipment of 150,000 litres
approved on 27 January is expected to arrive by mid-March,
while 25,000 litres of kerosene accorded on the same
date is not enough to fill a tanker, as required for
safety reasons, and has not left Dar-es-Salaam.

Mr. Griffiths pointed out that in addition to delays
on approved requirements, not all of the agencies'
concerns have been addressed by the RSCC.

"Besides fuel and spare parts we have applied
for exemptions for educational material and hand tools.
This represents direct assistance to populations affected
by the conflict in Burundi and there was no response
after the most recent meeting of the RSCC in Lusaka",
Griffiths said.

UN agencies and non-governmental organisations are
hampered by the shortage of much-needed humanitarian
goods while faced with increasing numbers of beneficiaries
as a result of the ongoing conflict which is reported
to have displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

The delivery of aid has also been slowed by the duplication
of administrative procedures and restrictions on the
type of transport that may be used to the land- locked
country.

For more information please contact:

Tel: 254-2-622893/622166 +212 963 4832/1608

Nairobi, 6 March 1997, 1:00 GMT

[ENDS]

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